ALL ACTIVE Physical therapy

Common causes of pain

Head and neck

Whiplash-Associated Disorder (WAD)
The term “whiplash-associated disorder” is used to describe the clinical manifestations of a whiplash injury – which occurs when an “acceleration-deceleration” force is applied on the neck. The neck is injured by a sudden jerking or “whipping” of the head – straining the muscles and ligaments of the neck beyond their normal range of motion. While many associate the occurrence of WAD with car accidents, it can occur in any mishap when an acceleration-deceleration force is applied on the neck for example, in a diving accident, on roller coasters, sports injuries, or being punched or shaken.

Symptoms:

Pain in the neck, head, shoulder, and arms

Pain and stiffness in the neck – muscles may feel knotted and stiff

Pain when moving head from side-to-side, front-to-back, and rotation

Tenderness

Headaches

Neck Pain)
Our necks are exposed to a lot of stress. Often, people experience pain in this region caused by a number of different factors. The pain may begin in any of the structures in the neck (muscles, nerves, vertebrae and the disks between them, etc.) and can radiate down to the back and arms. Pain can also be radiated from other areas like the shoulder, jaw, head, or upper arms. A common cause of neck pain is muscle strain or tension – and everyday activities are the culprit. Being bent over a desk all day, poor posture while reading or watching TV, or sleeping in an awkward position can all be causes. It can also be caused by more serious incidents, like falls or accidents. Other causes may include a cervical herniated disk, arthritis, and meningitis.

Symptoms:

Stiffness and soreness of the neck

Headaches

Difficulty moving head

Pain that spreads to shoulders, arms, or back

If neck pain involves nerves, you may feel numbness, tingling, or weakness in your arm, hand, or elsewhere

Shoulder

Repetitive Stress
The shoulder blades are the foundation of the shoulder. If the muscles around the shoulder blades get weak, it will not take much to cause an injury when doing repetitive movements especially overhead movements. Not taking the necessary breaks while making repetitive movements can lead to added stress on the shoulder and cause painful injuries.

Improper Exercise
Make sure you strengthen your shoulder muscles to avoid injury. When most people exercise, they don’t think to do shoulder specific exercises. They feel that they are strong because they do bench press or squats. However, if they are not doing Rotator Cuff specific exercises, then they are not properly strengthening the shoulder. It is important to properly ice and control inflammation after strenuous activity, if not; the uncontrolled inflammation can weaken tendons and muscles eventually making your shoulder vulnerable to injury.

LOWER BACK

Prolonged Sitting
Prolonged sitting is the #1 worst thing for your lower back. Prolonged sitting will put a lot of pressure on your back, regardless of if you’re sitting in a supported or non-supported chair. The pressure can gradually wear down your spine, causing pain. If you sit for long periods of time and you have weak muscles, everyday activities such as; getting groceries out of the car can cause injury.

Stress
Stress is the worst thing for your muscles. Stress weakens the muscles and causes nervous system responses that can dehydrate the discs in your spine. Weak muscles and dehydrated discs in your spine can make you vulnerable to injury. Even small activities such as tying your shoes or bending over can cause injury.

Wrist and Hand Pain

Trauma
Any form of direct trauma such as hitting the ground on your golf swing can cause injury to the wrist and hand. Improper hitting or punching techniques can cause wrist/hand injuries and possibly hairline fractures.

Head & Neck Problems
The most common cause of pain in wrist and hand is the position of your neck. The nerves that power your hand come from your neck. When sitting doing computer work, your neck may be in an improper position and this may compromise those nerves. When those nerves are compromised, you may experience traveling pain in your hands as well as put your hands vulnerable to repetitive stress injury.

Elbow Pain

Trauma
If you are excessively gripping like in golf or tennis with impact, the elbow could be injured from repetitive stress. The junction where the tendon and muscles join at the elbow is not that strong and if you have repetitive trauma that part will start to strain overtime. Also, if you happen to fall on your hand or wrist, the elbow will absorb most of the force. Depending on how hard the impact, you can cause injury to the elbow.

Hip pain

Imbalanced Muscles
In most people their hip muscles are imbalanced. Because we sit a lot the Gluteus muscles (Butt muscles) are very weak while the muscles in the front of your hip are very tight. Again, if your muscles are not aligned properly, something will break down. Most people think that because they can walk fine they are alright. Overtime the wear and tear can cause early arthritis in the hip and that’s why there are so many hip replacements in seniors. Exercises for balancing hip muscles are not common knowledge. You cannot see a physical trainer at your local gym to balance your hip muscles. The exercises are unconventional so most people do not know to do them.

Lower Back
More often than not, pain in your hips can easily be misdiagnosed. The pain may actually be coming from your lower back as radiating pain. Since the nerves that control the legs start from the lower back, compromised nerves can cause pain in the hip. Just like if you were having heart problems, you’ll feel the pain in your arms.

Knee Pain

Imbalanced Muscles
Another cause of pain is imbalanced muscles surrounding the knee. For example, the Quadriceps could be overly strong and the Hamstrings are not as strong. This will impose uneven forces to the knee due to the poor muscle balances, ultimately causing early joint break down. Just like if you had a car that was out of alignment, eventually something would wear down and break. Imbalanced muscles can be caused by stagnant lifestyle, poor or lack of warm up/cool down prior to exercise, poor rehabilitation after injury and improper exercise.

Weak Muscles
Not being active enough can cause the Quadriceps, Hamstrings and Calf’s to get weak. When those muscles get weak, then the knee joint absorbs more force. These additional forces will cause negative stresses on the knee. As the joint stresses, it breaks down. This can be a cause of early Arthritis. Also, there is more stress on the ligaments, which can cause tears.

Ankle & Foot Pain

Imbalances
Contrary to what most people believe, a majority of the Ankle and Foot problems come from imbalances in the low Back, Hip or Knee. As a result, they get excessive forces put onto the Ankle and Foot.
Trauma
Excessive force put onto the Ankle or Foot can cause hairline or other fractures. There are a lot of bones, joints and ligaments in the foot. So with excessive force trauma such as motorcycle accidents and landing wrong from a jump, it is easy for those structures in the foot to get strained or fractured. It is common to see people breaking bones in the foot such as the Tibia and Fibula.
Improper Shoes
A lot of people do not wear the proper shoes for their feet. So over time there can be gradual wear and tear on the Ankle and Foot. A lot of shoes in our society are unhealthy and so wearing the wrong type of shoes can cause problems overtime and increase your risk of spraining your ankle. Some women have problems in their toes because they wear and walk in shoes that are too small. They may get a blister once in a while and they’ll think they need to get the blister better. What most do not realize is that wearing small shoes is changing the mechanics of their feet and causing wear and tear on the joints. If you are getting soreness in your feet, don’t brush it off and say “My feet are tired”. Because it may be causing undue stress to the ligaments and joints which will cause pain and problems down the road.

I think what I like best is that they zoom in or focus on your problem and you can communicate with them and they can help you to solve it. I'm very grateful because I never been to a physical therapy that is better than here. I've been to lots of them and all they seem to want to do is create more pain, where here they try to solve the pain. I'm very grateful for that. They're loyal to their customers and I want to spread the word. I really think they are terrific!→ Carol

I just wanted to let you know that I been to Angie before and when I was suggested to go to another Physical therapist, I told my doctor that was not the one I wanted to go to. I have faith in Angie and her staff. I also feel they work so well with you. They understand where the pain is and the exercises that they give you are really helpful.→ Eleanor